MEIN RIVER HYDROELECTRIC PILOT PROJECT

The Mein River Hydro Project was initiated under the Liberia Energy Sector Support Program (LESSP) and now falls within the purview of Power Africa. The LESSP was designed by USAID/Liberia to increase access to affordable renewable energy services in geographically focused rural and urban areas in order to foster economic, political and social development. Liberia was selected as a Power Africa focus country in 2013 to increase affordable electricity access to urban and rural communities. The Power Africa Initiative is driven by the Government of the United States in collaboration with 100+ partners to increase electricity access by 60 million connections and 30,000 MW of power generation in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. The engineering components of the Mein River Hydropower  project include the diversion weir, an intake structure, the approach canal, a power house equipped with three 335 kW Francis turbines and generator sets, the power transmission and distribution infrastructure, and approximately 2 kilometers of a new access road. Operations and management of the power system will be under the responsibility of the Mein River Power Company (MRPC), which consists of Phebe Hospital, Cuttington University and the Kpakormein Farmer Cooperative. The project type is a Run-of- the River hydropower system. The total Power Output is 1000KW.

Current Activities

  • Ongoing constrction of hydro plant and related road work.

Planned Outcomes

  • Provide power to 2,500 residential and 150 commercial consumers, including Cuttington